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September 15 through October 15
Celebrating Hispanic
Heritage Month
This is the humble story of one Mexican family’s journey to the United States and I share it with you
as it is a familiar refrain of so many Mexican families and why they emigrated to the United States
during the ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. The search for better economic and social opportunities with a
safe environment for their children becomes a powerful and universal motivator for many of these
immigrants. Reasons considered are still viable for those immigrants seeking to come to the United
States today.
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Written By Rachel Perez
he landowner’s directives, to my husband John’s paternal
grandfather, Ursulo Perez, were very clear the day he
left him in charge of his hacienda. “I am taking my
family and leaving for a safer place and I want you to take care
of the cattle and if the revolutionary army arrives keep track
of the number of cattle that they take. I know they will come
because they need the cattle for food.” Little did Ursulo suspect
at the time that this simple directive would change the course
of family history for the entire Perez clan living in Zacatecas,
Mexico in 1916.
In Ursulo’s case, fate came sooner than later as the
revolutionary army descended upon the ranch and demanded
the cattle. Ursulo indicated to the army officer that they could
take as many of the cattle as they needed only to let him know
the number taken so he could report back to the landowner.
The army officer took offense because he felt that Ursulo was
being uncooperative and treasonous for not readily giving up
the livestock. Despite a reasonable explanation on Ursulo’s part,
the animals were quickly confiscated but not before the army
officer reported back to his commanding officer the details of
the interaction that he had with him.
Word quickly spread through the small village that Ursulo
would suffer his fate by firing squad that night. Upon hearing
this disturbing news, he quickly gathered his family and
what possessions they could carry and left the village under
cover of darkness. What were the thoughts of Ursulo Perez
on that fateful day in 1916? Mixed emotions of leaving his
beloved homeland forever, traveling to places unknown and
the uncertainty of being able to provide for his family must
have weighed heavily on him but he was determined to find
a way out of his predicament. One thing was certain, he was
under duress and the only alternative to staying was rumor
of a premature death if he stayed. Later, neighbors recalled to
the family that the troops returned looking for him, only to be
told that he had taken his family and left in the direction of
Mexico City. The opposite direction of where he had taken his
family. Historically, Mexico was in the woes of a full-blown civil
war that started in 1910 and would not end until 1917 with
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
the Proclamation of the Mexican Constitution. The Mexican
Revolution left in its wake as most civil wars do destruction
of institutions, fear, calamity, and human misery that ravaged
even the most remote villages in the country.
Ursulo’s family, including his wife, four sons and one
daughter successfully crossed the border through El Paso,
Texas on July 19, 1916. Interestingly, the border agents at
the intake desk mistook the daughter for a man and named
her “Jaime.” For her protection aga inst the revolutionaries,
kidnapping or rape, the family had disguised her as a man.
Her name was simply, Maria, for the duration of time the
family spent in El Paso. Ursulo immediately found work as a
laborer on the railroad, where he witnessed the expeditionary
forces led by General John “Black Jack” Pershing coming out
of Mexico in his unsuccessful pursuit of Pancho Villa in 1917.
Eventually, the family made its way westward and settled
along with other families and friends in the established
“barrios” in the East Los Angeles area. These Mexican neigh-
borhoods were little more than slapped together housing and
tents located along main roads, creeks or rivers. Nevertheless,
these neighborhoods were affectionately given names that
reflected or described a characteristic of the neighborhood:
“La Cante Ranas” (the Singing Frogs), “El Ranchito” (the
Ranch), and “El Barrio Seco” (the Dry Neighborhood with no
running water). All were welcoming enclaves to the newly
arrived immigrants where social networks could be quickly
established and reunions of long lost relatives and friends
could be found.
Part of the family including John’s
father, Eusebio Perez, made their way
North and settled in Gilroy. John’s
father worked at the old Be & Ge
Manufacturing Plant and did odd
jobs as a cement layer on weekends.
His mother, Conception, worked in
the canneries and eventually found
employment at Gilroy Foods. The
Eusebio Perez
family purchased their first home in
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
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